Could “Ruin Porn” Be Your Next Guilty Pleasure?

I grew up in a cozy suburb of Northern Virginia, where lawns are mowed and houses are freshly painted. I was taught from a young age that second-hand means second-best and I spent much of my life feeling dissatisfied with the fact that I knew rest of the world was not as “picket-fence perfect” as my suburban reality led me to believe. This is why, after college, I moved to the post-Soviet country of Armenia.

Yup, that’s me, photographing the remains of three former statues of Vladimir Lenin on a dreary Spring day in Yerevan, Armenia. Doesn’t get more ruin-y than that, does it?

It was culture-shock on every possible dimension, but perhaps most shocking of all were my new surroundings. Yerevan could not be more different from the tidy neighborhoods of Fairfax: the Soviet-socialist apartment buildings, the abandoned playgrounds, the unkempt parks, the powerful Soviet-modernist monuments crumbling before my eyes, the decapitated heads of former Lenin statues torn down at the fall of the USSR… Yeah.

As a result, I photographed everything in sight, from old Soviet spice racks to dirty, retired buses. People looked at me strangely and snickered maliciously as I stopped to snap shots with my iPhone of what they considered trash, but I could not have cared less. I was so inspired by that I even wrote little poems honoring the objects’ former greatness (see below).

“Dear soviet bus haunting the streets, to you, life’s not been kind / Where once you served a thousand feet, those days now are far behind.”

Okay, so maybe I went a little overboard in my pursuit of the imperfect, but what I realized later was that I was not alone. Hashtags on social media connected me with others who had a similar passion for society’s rejected relics and I realized that my obsession actually has a name!

“Ruin Porn,” or ruins photography, is the saucy term given to the phenomenon of photographing formerly industrial landmarks in a state of deterioration and dilapidation. Usually the locations featured in the images are abandoned and in terrible condition, and the local communities surrounding them typically regard them as an eyesore. While there’s actually a huge debate surrounding the ethics of this kind of photography, the overall consensus is that it’s growing in popularity.

I briefly covered the phenomenon in my interview with Christopher Herwig, the mastermind behind the Soviet Bus Stops project, a series that curated the previously hidden beauty of neglected, former-Soviet bus stops. (And while he does not technically consider his work a part of “ruins photography,” if you need further proof that highlighting decaying industrial landmarks is trending worldwide, his crowdfunding campaign raised over 500% of its goal.)

I also love discovering others who have an eye for capturing what most believe are eyesores in a way that is beautiful. As a result, I often find myself typing terms like #urban, #industrial, or #street into PicsArt’s search engine and as it turns out, PicsArt is a great home for this kind of photography from people living in cities all over the world. I’d like to highlight one user in particular, whose work I consider to be a formidable example of ruins photography.

Oskar Barański (@oskarious) is based in the Eastern Bloc and his gallery is replete with the half-built industrial landmarks of his native Poland. According to his profile, 70% of his images are captured with a Samsung Galaxy S and the rest is with a Canon 5D. The above image is my absolute favorite. I’m head-over-heels for the unfinished and abandoned factory’s wire-framing that, quite literally, frames the edges of the building. It feels like a real-life architectural sketch. The contrast with natural elements, like the blue sky above and the clouds and the golden strands of wheat that occupy the lefthand portion of the composition is magnificent. I also love the way the composition is framed geometrically. But perhaps most of all, I love the way Barański uses filters. While I often up the contrast and opt for a dark vignette to create a more brooding photograph, he prefers a faded, vintage effect and for me, that’s really powerful in evoking the softer elements of this harsh reality.

The colors in this photograph make my knees weak. I love the orange against the dark green of the grass. The faded effect also highlights the decay of the building and the geometrical composition makes all the elements feel tight and compact.

Do you like this style of photography as much as I do? Do you want to see more of it on our app? Together, we can make that happen. Next time you’re in a city, scout some of its neglected spaces. Depending where you are, it might be harder to find than others. Post-Soviet countries like Armenia offer a lot of opportunities for this, but this is not the case everywhere. Once you’ve got your shot, edit it with PicsArt photo editor and share using the hashtag #Industrial so we can find you.

Could “Ruin Porn” Be Your Next Guilty Pleasure? was last modified: May 13th, 2016 by Karine Vann

Karine is a Staff Writer at PicsArt Photo Studio. She originally hails from Washington D.C. and currently lives in Yerevan, Armenia. A musician by training, she is also a freelance journalist and graphic designer who is passionate about the arts and the environment (in no particular order).

8 comments

It's me. Oskar Barański. I found this article by accident and I am shocked. It's the first time somebody actually wrote something about my photography. Karine thank you. You have no idea how much your words mean to me. I'm struggling with depression, my fathers alcoholism, and my mothers and sisters hatred towards me. I'm also fighting for the right to spend time with my children (son Eryk and daughter Emma) with my soon to be ex-wife. Fortunately my current partner Marta is amazing and forces me to take photos even when I feel miserable and life seems pointless. She's my strength. I am really amazed by your opinion. I want you to know that your favourite photo from my gallery is also my favourite. I am nothing more then simple amateur who bought he's first photo camera about five years ago. And put it on he shelf after doing some wedding sessions for my friends. It seemed boring so for the last few years my camera was waiting covered in dust. Luckilly couple months ago my psychologist and psychatrist told me that I should do something for myself and find a hobby. I never read any books about photography. I don't know any photographers. I am not influenced by anyone. I just shoot and after I have some fun with editing. I have never thought that any of my work would get recognition.

Dear Oskar, I'm so happy that this article came at the right time for you. You deserve the recognition–you certainly have an eye for awesome and a very distinctive style that I fell in love with! The way colors come out in your work is magnificent. Keep your head up and keep creating!!!

Hi. Karine. Last time I was in Zarnowiec (abandoned nuclear power plant) I had only 15min before I was escorted by security guards to the extit. The photography you ejoyed so much were taken in a rush. Inspired by your article I decided to break into restricted area with my woman once again. This time we went there at 3am and waited till dawn. So we didnt trigger any alarms. Visit my gallery. I should upload all photos by tommorow.

The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, but I actually thought youd have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could fix if you werent too busy looking for attention.